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Some have described the Forester as the original soft-roader. But the first version that arrived in the UK in 1997 was really more a utilitarian workhorse; a reputation born from the fact that when Subarus first arrived in the UK in 1977 there were no dealerships, so the first cars were sold alongside farm machinery.

In essence the Forester was an Impreza with a larger estate body and raised ground clearance. Mk2 arrived in 2003, together with a raft of zippy turbocharged models (fir...Read the full article

It's a shame Subaru have gone for more height and more of a small SUV look for the new car. I have a Mk2 and bought it because it had a little bit more height than the 5 door Impreza - the height has come in handy on many occasions on fresh snow. Overall it has enough non-SUV feel to it though to enjoy driving every non-snow-covered day. Now the Impreza only exists in hatchback there are fewer options for those of us who want a car-handling vehicle, that's still good to point up a mountain pass but can also handle lots of muddy sports kit and a good drive over green roads. I guess it's either a Legacy (lacks the height) or Outback (lacks the manual option, at least here in Switzerland). Subaru obviously sees benefit in going more mainstream, but some of us don't have mainstream needs. Fortunately they make cars which feel like they'd go on for ever, so the Mk2 will probably be staying in the household for years to come.

A bit harsh only 2 stars! I know I might be a little biased to the Subaru range, as I have just added a 2008 Forester Turbo to my drive (i'm downunder) to complement my Liberty and Impreza, and although the running costs are a little higher, for anybody requiring a SUV without the road presence, or a car with a real full time AWD system (take note Honda, Mazda etc) there are very few other options.

The new forester is a good car, and I think it will be very good with the superb new diesel. My only concern with it is the interior design. It really would not have taken much effort to design a nicer interior. Fair enough its durable, but its oh so dull and I think ugly. The interiors in a new Corsa or Fiat 500 look nicer and they cost half the price. Looking closer to home the Legacy interior is smart and tidy. What went wrong?

Has the new shape Forester been tested off road yet?